ThinkOlio Presents: Modern Art, the Work-Life Balance, and the Gig Economy

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This is a double feature event! Olio Double Features include two professors giving 30-minute, interdisciplinary talks on tangentially related topics.

Modern Art, Gender Roles, and the Work / Life Balance Taught by Jessica Murphy

Georgia O'Keeffe might be the most famous American woman artist of her generation, but she certainly wasn't the only one. This Olio introduces us to four other women who forged careers as professional artists in New York between 1900 and 1940. From Peggy Bacon's scenes of bohemian life to Isabel Whitney's depictions of a changing Brooklyn, from Florine Stettheimer's whimsical family portraits to Abastenia St. Leger Eberle's figures of immigrants and laborers, their art explored a range of subjects and styles.

And these artists' personal stories are just as varied as their work, reminding us that the issues of "work/life balance" and women's shifting roles in male-dominated fields are nothing new. How did these four women define modern life and modern art for themselves? Join us and learn more.

Freelance and the Gig-Economy is Eating the American Dream Taught by Ward Regan

This Olio examines the current state of employment in the US and the rise of the new economic world order. When 40% of the American work force are independent contractors and many people have steady jobs but with no benefits, it's not hard to see how the US employment landscape has changed significantly.

The last 40 years of American economic “progress” has expanded the wealth gap to its largest in a century and introduced neoliberal business practices that put a stake in the heart of the “American Dream”. This talk will look at the different economic and political forces that have wrought these changes and how American society has been transformed.